This invention relates to supporting apparatus of the type which can be mounted to a brick wall for supporting a potted plant, hanging basket, garden hose, or the like. Commonly such articles are supported by a triangular bracket which in turn is secured to the wall by bolts, screws or other suitable masonry anchors which result in a permanent defacement of the wall if the bracket is later moved.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,767 to Dobkowski describes an adjustable hanger for mounting to a brick wall which is adapted to grip a front portion of a brick in the wall by engaging the upper and lower faces within the mortar recesses immediately above and below the brick. Typically the recesses formed by a raked mortar joints are suitable for the hanger of Dobkowski. The hanger of Dobkowski includes two components, the first component being adapted to rest flat against the brick wall abutting the front faces of two vertically adjacent bricks and having a hook portion at its upper end adapted to fit in the mortar recess and engage the upper surface of the upper brick, and the second component being a lever which is pivotally mounted to the first component and passes through an aperture therein, the end proximal to the wall having a hook which is adapted to fit in the mortar recess and engage the lower face of the same brick. It will be appreciated that the two components act somewhat in the manner of a pair of scissor action pliers to grip the face edge portion of the brick by action of a weight applied to the distal end of the lever component. While the Dobkowski hanger would appear to work reasonably well, its manner of construction renders it generally cumbersome and not as aesthetically pleasing as is desirable. Furthermore, the manner in which the second component is pivotally mounted to the first component undesirably increases the cost of manufacture. Additionally, the Dobkowski hanger does not seem to be well suited for use with bricks which have front face irregularities or have not been accurately laid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,882 to Anderson shows a supporting apparatus having two components which operate in a pliers-like manner similar to that of Dobkowski which is adapted for hanging planter pots from an upper window trim board or the like. One component is an L-shaped member adapted to hang from the window trim board with a hook on the free end of one leg of the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d which engages the rear face of the trim board and the other leg of the xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d rests against the front face of the trim board and has a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal slots therein. The other component is a lever member which extends through a selected one of the slots with its proximal end engaging the underface of the window lintel below the trim board. A weight applied to the distal end of the lever member causes a clamping action on the trim board and the lintel. This apparatus is not suitable for use with a brick wall for a number of reasons and it would seem that any attempt to use it on such a wall would result in the lever member slipping out of the horizontal slot and the apparatus being released from the wall. Additionally the apparatus would be difficult to fit to a wall as it would be necessary to hold the L-shaped member and the lever member together in a predetermined relative position suitable for fitting in a mortar recess.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,955,476 describes a flower box holder which has two components which act in a similar manner to those of Dobkowski and Anderson. One component is a generally Ushaped member adapted to hang adjacent a timber wall with one leg of the xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d resting on the window sill and the other leg abutting the wall below the sill to hold the member generally plumb. The other component forms a loop which is adapted to surround the flower box, the loop having a lever portion which extends through an aperture provided in the middle leg of the U-shaped first component for pivotal movement to engage the windowsill in a pliers-like manner between the first leg of the xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d and the lever portion.
One object of the present invention is to provide supporting apparatus which may be manufactured at a reasonably low cost, yet will prove strong, stable and efficient in use. Another object is to provide a supporting apparatus which can be reliably used on brick walls which have irregular front faces and similarly on brick walls in which successive rows of bricks are not necessarily perfectly plumb or straight. Another object is to provide supporting apparatus which can be easily mounted on a brick wall but is aesthetically pleasing.
With the foregoing in view, this invention resides broadly in supporting apparatus adapted to be mounted to a brick wall having mortar recesses between adjacent rows of bricks, for supporting a planter pot, hanging basket, garden hose or the like, the apparatus including:
a first generally elongate member adapted to hang adjacent the front face of the brick wall and having a hook portion at or adjacent one end adapted to fit in the mortar recess between a first brick and the adjacent upper brick and to engage the upper surface of the first brick;
a second generally elongate member having a distal end and a proximal end adapted to be pivotally connected intermediate its ends to said first elongate member at a position spaced from said hook portion by a distance approximately equal to the height of the first brick, a portion adjacent the proximal end being adapted to fit in the mortar recess between the first brick and the adjacent lower brick and to engage the lower face of the first brick and the portion adjacent the distal end being adapted to support a weight, characterized in that said second elongate member includes a slot and said first member includes a tongue portion adapted to be received in said slot upon pivoting of said first elongate member generally about its longitudinal axis to a predetermined position and said first elongate member includes retaining means for retaining said first and second elongate members pivotally connected upon said first elongate member being pivoted to a second predetermined position angularly spaced from said first predetermined position, said first and second members cooperating in use when said first elongate member is in said second predetermined position to grip the first brick between said hook portion and said proximal end portion upon weight being applied to said distal end portion of said second elongate member.
Preferably, both the first and second elongate members are formed from flat bar or plate and are substantially rectangular in cross section, although it will be appreciated that the width of each member may change along its length. In its most simple form, each member is formed from plane rectangular steel bar and in one example, the first member is formed from 25 mm by 3 mm bar and the second member from 32 mm by 5 mm bar which is found to provide satisfactory support for most articles for which the apparatus is intended to be used. It will be appreciated that such form of the invention minimizes the number of components and allows for ease of manufacture thus minimizing cost. In such form of the invention it is preferred that said retaining means be formed by providing two opposed recesses in the edge portions of the first elongate member to create a link portion therebetween, the portion of said first elongate member between said recesses and said other end forming said tongue portion. In this form of the invention it will be appreciated that the width of the link portion is slightly less than the width of the slot to allow pivoting of said first elongate member from said first predetermined position to said second predetermined position. It will also be appreciated that the width of the slot must be slightly greater than the thickness of said tongue portion and the length of the slot must be at least slightly greater than the width of said tongue portion to allow it to be received therein. In such form it is also preferred that said slot extends longitudinally of said second elongate member and thus is effective to allow for selectively varying the position of the second member relative to the first member in use to accommodate different depth mortar recesses. Preferably, said slot is arranged to terminate a distance from the proximal end of the second elongate member approximately equal to the length of said hook portion so that in the normal most common operation of the apparatus a user may simply connect the two members and slide the first member in the slot towards the proximal end as tar as possible and then fit the hook and the proximal end portion into the respective mortar recesses.
Preferably said first elongate member includes spacing means as its other end for concentrating the lower vertically adjacent brick and for spacing the part of the elongate member intermediate said hook portion and said other from the face of the first block. Advantageously, the inclusion of said spacing means allows the apparatus to be used on brick walls with front face irregularities without diminishing the gripping force applied by the hook portion and the proximal end portion to the first brick. Preferably, said spacing means is arranged along the length of the first elongate member such that it engages the adjacent lower brick about mid-height thus achieving relatively high stability. In a preferred form of the invention in which said spacing means is formed by bending the end portion adjacent said other end, said other end is adapted to engage the adjacent lower brick at approximately mid height.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a support assembly for a brick wall having mortar recesses between adjacent rows of bricks, the support assembly including first and second elongate members, with the first elongate member having an upper end with a hook means for engagement in a first horizontal mortar groove between two courses of bricks and being adapted to be disposed generally vertically with respect to a brick wall face, the second elongate member having a proximal end with an end face for engagement in a second lower horizontal mortar groove and being adapted for connection to the first elongate member to extend laterally with respect to the first elongate member from the brick wall face, with a distal end of the second elongate member being adapted to support a predetermined load, and wherein the first elongate member has an inwardly directed lower end adapted to abut the brick wall face below the second mortar groove to space a central portion of the first elongate member away from the brick wall face.